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Home > Parents > Curriculum > Elementary > Science > Enrichment Activities

Science Field Trips and Enrichment Activities

The activities below can be used by teachers and parents to extend the learning of the FOSS Science Curriculum. Some of the activities are suitable for field trips, some for classroom programs and some are appropriate for parents to do with children to support science learning as a family.

Kindergarten

Trees and Gardening	Wood and Paper	Animals 2 X 2
Canopy - self guided neighborhood walk	Palo Alto Junior Museum - Wood and Paper	Palo Alto Junior Museum - Zoo animals
Foothills Park	Visit a local cabinet maker	The Environmental Volunteers - Nature in your Neighborhood and All About Birds programs.
Mitchell Park	Lawrence Hall of Science - classroom programs	Youth Science Institute programs
Tree walk in neighborhood around the Palo Alto Junior Museum	Exploratorium - smell, touch and taste exhibits	CuriOdyssey (formely Coyote Point Museum)
Gamble Garden	Home Depot in San Mateo - Jean Shanahan (650) 525-9343 X323	Lawrence Hall of Science - classroom programs
Hidden Villa		Marine Science Institute
Palo Alto Junior Museum - Biomes
Blue House Farm - Pescadero
Additional Activities for Families
Garden with your child	Visit University Art Paper Room	Dig in the dirt and look for organisms to observe.
Canopy - volunteer opportunities	Involve your child in woodworking projects at home.	Aquarium visits (identify the structures and behaviors of different animals)
	Visit a construction site.

First Grade

Air and Weather	Solids and Liquids	Plants and Animals
Palo Alto Junior Museum - Air pressure, wind and storm classroom programs	Palo Alto Junior Museum - What is a LIquid? Viscosity and Phase Change classroom programs	Palo Alto Junior Museum - Habitats, Camoflage and Adaptations classroom programs
Palo Alto Airport Tower	Santa Clara Valley Water District	Youth Science Institute programs
Meterologists from local TV stations	Lawrence Hall of Science - classroom programs	Hidden Villa
Exploratorium - weather exhibits	Pizza My Heart - learn how pizza is made (FREE)	CuriOdyssey (formely Coyote Point Museum)
Hiller Aviation Museum Museum tours and Aviation Weather class
Additional Activities for Families
Observe the weather and describe it.	Observe liquids and their properties in everyday activties (e.g. taking a bath, washing the dishes, cooking).	Look for pillbugs, sowbugs, earthworms and other organisms in the soil. Discuss how they interact with each other and their environment.
		Observe and discuss the properties of different plants.
		Grow plants from seed and/or make cuttings to propgate plants.

Second Grade

Pebbles, Sand and Silt	Balance and Motion	Insects and Plants
Geokids at Stanford	Bowling - observe and describe the motion of the bowling balls.	What's Bugging You? program from the Palo Alto Water Quality Control Plant (FREE!)
Lyngso - This is a busy supply yard with many moving trucks. However, it is a good place to see rocks of different sizes and construction materials.	Palo Alto Junior Museum - Balance and Falling, Bouncing and Rolling, Speed and Friction as well as sound classroom programs	Palo Alto Junior Museum - Arthropods, Insect mouths and Bee Society classroom programs
Palo Alto Junior Museum - Rock Classification, Weathering and Erosion, Sand Investigation and Fossils classroom programs	The Tech Museum of Innovation Physics of Rollercoasters Workshop	San Fransisco Insect Zoo
Youth Science Institute program - Dinosaurs and Fossil Fun	Lawrence Hall of Science - classroom programs	Sanborn Science and Nature Center (arthropod zoo). The Insect Fair is fun for famlies. Both programs are part of the Youth Science Institute
Lawrence Hall of Science - classroom programs	Exploratorium - mechanics, dynamics and motion exhibits	Lawrence Hall of Science - classroom programs
Exploratorium - geology and material exhibits		California Academy of Science
Home Depot in San Mateo - Jean Shanahan (650) 525-9343 X323. Students decorate a ceramic tile.		Gamble Garden - Tours for children
		Youth Science Institute program - Insects, Spiders and Other Arthropods
		CuriOdyssey (formely Coyote Point Museum)
Additional Activities for Families
Collect sand samples from beaches and compare and constrast them.		Collect or observe insects and build a collection or record observed insects in notebook.
Visit local landscaping supply yards and observe various types of rocks.		Grow or visit a butterfly garden.
		Observe plants in different stages of their life cycle.

Third Grade

Sun, Moon and Stars	Matter and Energy	Baylands - Structures of Life
Palo Alto Junior Museum - The reasons for Seasons, Telescopes and Starlab classroom programs	Palo Alto Junior Museum - Periodic Chart andChemical Reactions classroom programs	Palo Alto Junior Museum - Plants and Birds of the Baylands and fish adapatations classroom programs
De Anza Planetarium	Lawrence Hall of Science - Classroom Programs	Palo Alto Baylands Interpretive Center
Morrison Planetarium at the CA Academy of Sciences	Exploratorium -color, energy, light, sound and waves exhibits	Don Edwards S.F. Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Chabot Space and Science Center	The Tech Museum of Innovation Energy at Play Workshop	FREE programs from the Palo Alto Water Quality Control Plant
Lawrence Hall of Science Planetarium	Youth Science Institute - Living Physics program	Santa Clara Valley Water District offers programs and tours
Exploration Gallery and the Earth Science and the Solar System Workshop at the Tech Museum of Innovation	Coyote Point Museum - Green Energy program	The Environmental Volunteers have programs on Baylands Ecology, and Early California life.
Lawrence Hall of Science - classroom programs	Lawrence Hall of Science - classroom programs	Youth Science Institute program on Animals and Their Adaptations
Exploratorium - astronomy and the solar system exhibits	San Jose Clean Energy Showcase	Hidden Villa
NASA Exploration Center (FREE)		CuriOdyssey (formely Coyote Point Museum)
		Lawrence Hall of Science - classroom programs
		Marine Science Institute
		Classroom programs from the Palo Alto Water Quality Control Plant (FREE!)
Additional Activities for Families
Foothill Observatory - free programs on weekends		Plant or visit a Bay Friendly Garden
Lick Observatory at UC Santa Cruz		Plan and make a zero waste lunch
NASA Exploration Center		The Galapagos exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences Kimball Natural History Museum focuses on adaptation and evolution.

Fourth Grade

Solid Earth	Magnetism and Electricity	Environments
Los Trancos earthquake walk - Teachers should contact Reneè Fizsimons for class trips	Palo Alto Junior Museum - Electricity classroom programs	Palo Alto Junior Museum - Environments classroom programs
USGS Menlo Park Campus	Exploratorium features many exhibits on magnetism and electricity	Alpine Pond School classes can participate in the Spaces and Species: Exploring Natural Communities program. Families can visit the nature center on weekends.
Nature Gallery owner, Carol Garsten will visit classrooms and present a selection of minerals, amber and fossils	The CIty of Palo Alto Electrical Safety Presenation - Free contact Dick Mau (650) 444-8858 Available: M – T (6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.)	California Academy of Sciences African Hall shows various African ecosystems and the aquariums feature many different water environments.
Palo Alto Junior Museum - Earth Science classroom programs	The Intel Museum provides a free field trip on circuits	Mercury: Past and Present and manuy other FREE programs from the Palo Alto Water Quality Control Plant
The Environmental Volunteers have a Earthquake Geology Program.	The Tech Museum of Innovation Magnetism and Simplicity of Electricity Workshops	The Environmental Volunteers have many programs related to ecology in different environments.
The Tech Museum of Innovation Building for the Big One Workshop	The Environmental Volunteers have a Energy and Natural Resources program on electricity	Youth Science Institute programs
Youth Science Institute program - Moving, Exploding Earth	Coyote Point Museum - Green Energy program	Hidden Villa
Lawrence Hall of Science - classroom programs	Lawrence Hall of Science - classroom programs	CuriOdyssey (formely Coyote Point Museum)
Exploratorium - geology and material exhibits	San Jose Clean Energy Showcase	Marine Science Institute
Marine Science Institute		Our Environment Up Close program from the Palo Alto Water Quality Control Plant (FREE!)
Mercury Past and Present program from the Palo Alto Water Quality Control Plant (FREE!)
Additional Activities for Families
Visit different beaches, such as San Gregorio State Beach, and Pebble Beach and compare sand samples. Compare samples in beach sand to composition of nearby rock formations.		Los Trancos Open Space Preserve - In addition to viewing the San Andreas Fault, this preserve features grassland, oak woodland, and shaded forest environments.
Visit the Gold Run Rest Stop on your next trip up I-80

Fifth Grade

Water Planet	Mixtures and Solutions	Living Systems
Santa Clara Valley Water District classroom presentation and Alamitos Groundwater Recharge Facility Tour	The Tech Museum of Innovation Chemical Properties Workshop	Palo Alto Junior Museum - Human Body classroom programs
The Tech Museum of Innovation Exploration Gallery and the Green by Design and Earth Science and the Solar System workshops	Palo Alto Junior Museum - Mixtures and Solutions classroom programs	CuriOdyssey (formely Coyote Point Museum) - Food to Fuel and Birds of Prey programs
FREE programs from the Palo Alto Water Quality Control Plant	Lawrence Hall of Science - classroom programs	Dairy Council of California's Mobile Dairy Classroom will bring a cow to school
Palo Alto Junior Museum - Water Planet classroom programs	Exploratorium - Microscope Imaging Station and chemistry exhibits	Ivy Chen - guest speaker for puberty education
The Environmental Volunteers have a Water Science and Conservation program.		Lawrence Hall of Science - classroom programs
Lawrence Hall of Science - classroom programs		Exploratorium - Microscope Imaging Station and anatomy exhibits
Exploratorium - solar system, water and weather exhibits
De Anza Planetarium
Morrison Planetarium at the CA Academy of Sciences
Chabot Space and Science Center
Lawrence Hall of Science Planetarium
Watershed Pollution Prevention program from the Palo Alto Water Quality Control Plant (FREE!)
NASA Exploration Center (FREE)
San Jose Clean Energy Showcase
Additional Activities for Families
The Pulgas Water Temple in San Mateo was built to showcase the engineering that brought water from Hetch Hetchy to the Bay Area		Lucille Packard Children's Hospital - Heart to Heart: A Seminar on Growing Up for Parents and Kids
Foothill Observatory - free programs on weekends
Lick Observatory at UC Santa Cruz
NASA Exploration Center

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